Harley Takes a Knife to the 2018 Lineup

With all of the talk of Harley's declining sales, the company surprisingly kept a lid on a completely rejiggered lineup that could give it a needed shot in the arm.

So here's the bad news with Harley's announcement of their new 2018 lineup - fans of the Dyna line will have nothing to choose from. Those bikes have been merged into the Softail line. The good news is that the eight new Softail models have all been given the Milwaukee-Eight 107 cubic-inch with the option of subbing out the Milwaukee-Eight 114 cubic-inch on select models, and additional changes that could be just what The Company's doctor ordered.

Besides the new and improved power plants, every one of the new models includes a lighter more rigid frame, high-performance front suspension, and an easily adjustable hidden rear mono-shock. The result is greater lean angles, sharper turn-in response, quicker acceleration, and flick-ability. (That's right, flick-ability. A term most would not have associated with a Harley in the past.)

Harley's engineers also took a chisel to the Softails and made every one of them lighter by as much as 35 pounds. Considering the Milwaukee-Eight 114 has a claimed 125 lb/ft of torque, you're going to feel that when you open up the throttle.